These words are like “signals from the stars,” lovely and surprising and filled with the stuff of good poetry: strong images, deft use of language and unerring need to have fun. Werstein is at once wise and witty, tender and precise, as he tackles a poetry, which spans the gamut from Ars Poetica to poems of witness. From poems with warning labels to the confusing label on a bottle of barbeque sauce, Werstein’s ability to see the wonder and absurdity in the everyday make this book such a joy to read. This book is a “library full of beautiful and dangerous poetry,” all of it resplendent with passion and love.

Karla Huston, Wisconsin Poet Laureate (2017-2018) & Author of Grief Bone

A Tar Pit to Dye In finds poet Ed Werstein in funny, punning conversation with earlier poets, his internet feed, his aching knee, words themselves, and the banana peel that slips him into metaphor. “At Home and Barefoot” opens the collection with its allusions to poetry’s work, romping through Dickinson, diPrima, Stafford, Levertov, and Bishop’s views. “Citizen of the World” invites the newborn to what “America should be, could be.” “Newport Poetry Trail” turns to Lorine Niedecker, “pondering poetry / as forged as nails.” As, indeed, Werstein’s own work is, in his wry and passionate engagement with words, poetic form, love, aging, and the world as it could be.

Robin Chapman, Author of Six True Things

Published by Kelsay Books